Mission Hockey

Mission Hockey is an American brand of inline skates currently owned by Bauer Hockey. The company Mission Roller Hockey Inc. was founded in California in 1995 as a roller hockey business, and then in 1997 changed its name to Mission Hockey Inc. after it expanded to ice hockey. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Mission equipment was used widely in the National Hockey League. In 2004, Mission merged with Itech to form Mission-Itech Hockey Ltd. Mission equipment remained in production until 2008, when Bauer purchased Mission-Itech. Bauer continues to produce inline skates using Mission branding, while the name has been absent in the hockey market since it was taken over.

History
Mission Roller Hockey Inc. was founded in Santa Ana, California in January 1995 by Thom Wilder, Kelly Burns, and Alexander Reynolds, three former employees of Canstar, the owner of Bauer Hockey. The trio left Canstar in the wake of its purchase by Nike in December 1994. The company's first president, Wilder, was a native of Williamsburg, Virginia and had no exposure to hockey until the 1980 Miracle on Ice. The founders believed that California was a rapidly growing market for hockey, and saw roller hockey as a way to make the sport accessible in the warmer climate. Wilder said, "all of these players were emerging and facilities were going up and there was nobody out here making product."

In July 1996, in need of investment, the three founders sold the company to Bob Naegele Jr., who later founded the Minnesota Wild. Naegele appointed Steve Meineke, of the Meineke family, to be chairman and chief executive officer. In its second year of operations, Mission's sales were around $14 million.

Mission began manufacturing ice skates and protective equipment in 1997, and at this time renamed itself Mission Hockey. Soon, Mission equipment was adopted by players in the National Hockey League. Its M-1 line of sticks and gloves was especially popular.

In May 2004, Mission Hockey merged with Itech Sports Products Inc. to form Mission-Itech Hockey Ltd. The new company elected to use the Itech offices in Kirkland, Quebec as its head office. Naegele became chairman of the board of the company, while Mission president Mike Whan was appointed president and chief executive.

In February 2008, W. Graeme Roustan, in partnership with Kohlberg & Company, acquired Bauer Hockey from Nike for $200 million. Released from the protection of the sporting goods giant, Roustan set out to grow Bauer in order to protect the company's standing in the hockey market. In September 2008, only six months after Bauer became independent, the company acquired Mission-Itech. Mission-Itech's president Whan related, "consolidation is essential for the long-term success of the overall hockey industry."

After the Bauer takeover, the Mission and Itech names were phased out of hockey equipment in 2009. Bauer continues to use the Mission brand on its inline skates.